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Assistant Professor (SG), Department of Mechanical Engineering Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Third Year B.Tech, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
3
Third Year B.Tech, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Solidification time is known to have a large effect on the microstructure of cast Aluminium alloys and hence its properties. This study
is conducted to quantify how the mechanical properties of Al-6.5 Cu alloy vary with respect to the solidification time. The
solidification time is varied by varying the diameter of the cast rod; this is based on the Chvorinovs rule which gives a relation
between solidification time and surface area, volume of the specimen. Mechanical properties such as Ultimate Tensile Strength,
Micro- hardness are observed by experimentation and change in microstructure for all the different specimens are also studied and
inferred. It is observed that as the solidification time increases, the mechanical properties tend to decrease. Further the coefficient of
friction is independent of the hardness and weight loss is dependent on hardness of the alloy.
Keywords: Solidification time, Chvorinovs rule, grain structure, hardness, Ultimate Tensile Strength.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------1. INTRODUCTION
The wide variety of properties (appearance, light weight,
fabricability, physical properties, mechanical properties, and
corrosion resistance) possessed by aluminium makes it an
automatic choice for several industrial applications. It is
widely used in almost all industries [1]. Since pure aluminium
has poor mechanical properties, to enhance the properties,
aluminium is generally alloyed with other metals like copper,
zinc, magnesium and manganese. Aluminium alloys have
been used as substitute materials in automobile industries.
Grey iron has been substituted by aluminium alloy for better
fuel economy [2]. Aluminium copper alloys are widely used
and have major role in aerospace and light weight applications
[1].
The ultimate physical and mechanical properties of the cast
metal will depend upon both intrinsic factors (chemical
composition, cooling rate during solidification and heat and
mechanical treatment after solidification) and extrinsic factors
(metal cleanliness, additives for microstructure control,
casting design, riser and gating design, solidification rate
control, and temperature control subsequent to solidification)
present in each casting event and in the processing events
subsequent to casting [3,4].
Out of the several methods that have been experimented to
improve the properties of Al-Cu alloys it was studied that the
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
2.1 Melting and Alloying
Moulds of different sizes (varying diameter from 15 to 35 mm
with the increment of 5 mm and keeping the height constant as
150 mm) are made to obtain different cooling rates (based on
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Volume: 03 Issue: 05 | May-2014, Available @ http://www.ijret.org
62
Element
Al
Cu
Fe
Si
Zn
Mn,
Sn, Ni
% Comp
92.2
6.52
0.52
0.519
0.114
Traces
2.3 Micro-Hardness
Micro-hardness of the alloy specimens are measured in HV
scale by applying a load of 100 gram force for 20 seconds
using a diamond indenter. Micro-Hardness is randomly
measured at 6 points. The average of the 6 readings is taken to
get the value of hardness of the specimen. The effect of
cooling rate on micro-hardness is inferred based on the results.
Figure 2 shows the Mitutoyo make micro-hardness tester.
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2.5 Microstructure
Metallographic specimens are prepared using standard
grinding and polishing procedures. For microstructure
analysis, the specimen is etched with HF solution and Kellers
reagent. The effect of cooling rate on microstructure is
inferred based on the results.
Diameter (mm)
Hardness (HV)
15
87.4
20
83.9
25
79.6
30
75.8
35
71.6
15
107
20
104.2
25
99.8
30
90.3
35
88.1
3.2 Micro-Hardness
Figure 7 is plotted between hardness value and the diameter of
the specimens. It is observed that as the diameter of the
specimen increases, the hardness value decreases. The reason
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64
3.4 Microstructure
The microstructure of the specimens of the alloy castings of
diameter 15, 25 and 35 mm (Figures 9-11) is chosen so as to
find a significant difference in grain structure. By comparing
Figures 9 and 11, it is observed that for 15 mm diameter
casting the grain size is very small as compared to 35 mm
diameter casting. This is due to the fact that for smaller
diameter, the cooling rate is very high which leads to smaller
grain size and for larger diameter it is low and forming large
grain size. Microstructure showed a marked shift from large
sized dendrites to finer dendrites this is in accordance with
previous report [10].
3.6 Wear
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65
4. CONCLUSIONS
The effect of cooling rate on mechanical properties of cast
aluminium Al-6.5Cu alloy is studied and the following
conclusions are derived.
REFERENCES
ASM Metals Handbook, Properties and Selection of
Nonferrous Alloys and Special Purpose Materials,
ASM International, Vol.2, pp. 17-19.
[2]
Lozano DE, Mercado-solis RD, Perez AJ, Talamantes J
and Morales F (2009), Tribological behavior of cast
hypereutectic Al-Si-Cu alloy subjected to sliding
wear, wear, Vol 267, pp 545-549.
[3]
Kalpakjian S (2008), Manufacturing processes for
engineering materials, Fifth Edition.
[4]
Cantor B (2003), Solidification and casting, Series in
Materials Science and Engineering.
[5]
Musa Gogebakan, Orhan Uzun, Tuncay Karaaslan and
Mustafa Keskin (2003), Rapidly solidified Al-6.5
wt.% Ni alloy, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, Vol 143, pp 87-92.
[6]
Dr.Eman J. Abed, The influence of different casting
method on solidification time and mechanical
properties of AL- Sn castings, International Journal of
Engineering & Technology IJET-IJENS, Vol 11, No:
06, pp 34-44.
[7]
Mitchell RJ, Preuss M, Hardy MC and Tin S(2006),
Influence of composition and cooling rate on
constrained and unconstrained lattice parameters in
advances polycrystalline nickel-base superalloys,
Journal of Materials Science and Engineering A, Vol
423, pp 282-291.
[8]
Savaskan T, Turhal MS (2003), Relationships
between cooling rate, copper content and mechanical
properties of monotectoid based Zn-Al-Cu alloys ,
Materials Characterization, Vol 51, pp 259-270.
[9]
Ilangovan S (2014), Effects of Solidification time on
mechanical properties and wear behaviour of sand cast
Aluminium alloy, International Journal of Research in
Engineering and Technology Plating and Surface
Finishing, Vol 3,Issue 2,pp 71-75.
[10] Amin KM, Nadeem A Mufti (2012), Investigating
cooling curve profile and microstructure of a squeeze
[1]
[11]
[12]
BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. S. Ilangovan has completed his
Bachelors
Degree
in
Mechanical
Engineering and Masters Degree in
Production Engineering. He has fourteen
years of experience in industry and sixteen
years in teaching. He has also completed
Ph.D. in Materials Engineering
SaiKrishna Viswanathan is a third-year
Mechanical Engineering student currently
pursuing Bachelor of Technology degree
from Amrita School of Engineering, Tamil
Nadu.
Gopath Niranthar K is a third-year
Mechanical Engineering student currently
pursuing Bachelor of Technology degree
from Amrita School of Engineering, Tamil
Nadu.
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66